Nitish Kumar attends Republic Day event at Governor's house, Tejashwi absent

Amidst speculations of a rift in the ruling Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar attended the high tea ceremony at the Raj Bhavan on the occasion of Republic Day. However, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD was conspicuously absent. The seat next to Kumar was occupied by senior JD(U) leader and minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary who removed the slip with Yadav's name before taking the chair.

Vijay Kumar Sinha, the leader of the opposition in the assembly, sat next to Choudhary and exchanged pleasantries with Kumar. The high tea was organized to celebrate Republic Day.

While education minister Alok Kumar Mehta, who is also a national general secretary of the RJD, attended the event, Yadav and many other RJD leaders, including Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, did not show up.


There are speculations that Kumar is unhappy with the Mahagathbandhan, which includes the Congress and the RJD with three Left parties supporting the government from outside. There are also rumors that he might plan to return to the BJP-led NDA, but leaders of the saffron party have stated that doors are closed for the JD(U) supremo. JD(U) leaders have maintained that the party firmly stands with the opposition INDIA bloc.

(Inputs from PTI)